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Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Texas Cage Fighting presents: Rogue Warrior Championships - Card Update
It seems hand injuries are the curse of this card. Originally scheduled to fight slugger Paul Buentello, Esteves Jones' opponent was changed to Word Class wrestler and high profile fighter Mike Van Arsdale due to Buentello suffering a hand injury. Now Arsdale, too, has suffered an injury. Luckily, El Paso is home to 'Ultimate Fighter 10' alumni and Texas MMA king, Darrill Schoonover, who barely found out about the fight on Monday but is excited to fight in front of his hometown regardless of the situation.
Darrill Schoonover is as well-rounded as they come. With 5 of his 10 wins coming VIA KO/TKOED and the other 5 by submission, he has shown to be equally as dangerous on the mat as he is standing. Owner of the XFC light heavyweight belt, the Freestyle Cage Fighting heavyweight belt and the Shark Fights heavyweight belt, which is sanctioned by the state of Texas as the official champion of Texas, Schoonover comes in with a slight experience advantage but because he just took the fight on Monday (4 day notice), does not come in with a full training camp. Esteves 'Quiet Riot' Jones is a King of the Cage champ with heavy hands and brings the fight, as shown by his 15 second KO in his last fight. Unlike Schoonover, Jones did go through a full training camp but might be affected by the short-notice change as well. In Arsdale, he had a wrestler with a 1-dimensional approach, and because of the high level of Arsdale's wrestling, Jones might have spent a lot of time preparing for stuffing single and double leg takedowns. He now faces a guy with a Judo blackbelt, who takes his opponents down with trips and throws more than with traditional wrestling takedowns, though he has the wrestling background to shoot in if need be. Add to this Schoonover's big right hand and solid stand up and it makes for a radical change in opponents for Jones.With only a 4 day notice on the fight, it's not an ideal situation for Darrill Schoonover. Still, Schoonover has been dying for a chance to fight in his hometown, so win, lose, or draw, you know he's going to bring the fight and make it a memorable one for his fellow El Pasoans.
Shawn Petat now fights Isaiah Reyes instead of tall order, Matt Leyva. Rich 'No Love' Clementi is still a go for his bout. The rest of the card remains virtually unchanged. Rogue Warrior Championships takes place April 8 at the El Paso County Coliseum. The first fight starts at 8pm. Tickets start at $20 and are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. For more information, go to www.texascagefighting.net.
Main Event
Heavyweight Bout - Esteves Jones vs Darrill Schoonover
Co-Main Event
Welterweight Bout - Josh Hinkle vs Rich Clementi
Undercard
205 lbs - Lance Evans vs Jeremy Rosales
205 lbs - Enrique Rios vs Paul moreno
185 lbs - Justin Gonzalas vs Willie Parks
135lbs - Shawn Pretat vs Isaiah Reyes
170 lbs - William Moore vs Corey Edwards
155 lbs - Oscar De la Parra vs Thomas Soto
We'll bring you any updates if more changes are made to the card. For more information on Darrill Schoonover's accomplishments, including his run on the 'Ultimate Fighter' alongside Kimbo Slice and Roy 'Big Country' Nelson, check this article out, www.daily4mma.blogspot.com/2010/10/darrill-schoonover-putting-el-paso-on.html
Texas Cage Fighting presents: Rogue Warrior Championships - The Rest of the Card
Though the Main Attraction fights have huge names and Tim Kennedy and Paul Buentello are going to be in the crowd, it takes more than 2 good fights and cool special guests to make a good fight card, and whoever put together Rogue Warrior Championships seems to have already known that, packing the rest of the card with top talent, from the next big thing out of Jackson's MMA Willie Parks to 'Ultimate Fighter' contestant and brother to Rashad Evans, Lance Evans, as well as the professional debut of local amateur bad ass, Oscar De La Parra.
'915 MMA' Amateur Lightweight Champ Oscar De La Parra makes his professional debut against 1-0 Thomas Soto. Soto is also new to the professional fight scene but a quick :38 second finish by submission in his first fight let him know he can hang with the pros. De La Parra used his technical kickboxing, more importantly his wide array of kicks, to become one of the more popular local MMA fighters and looks to see if all those crescent and push kicks will do as well at the professional level. With a professional win already under his belt, Soto is a solid first test for our very own Oscar De La Parra.
Willie Parks, the next big thing at Middleweight, takes on El Paso's own Justin Gonzales. A successful collegiate wrestler who did so well he got the Olympic Team's attention, Parks now looks to bring that success streak to the cage, and, at 4-0, seems to be doing just that. Greg Jackson says he's the man to look out for at 185, and when the guy who has trained GSP, Rashad Evans, Diego Sanchez, Jon Jones, and many others makes these sorts of allegations, you know they're for reals. Justin Gonzales is a US Army Specialist fighting out of El Paso and though the Army has prepared him for a lot of things, I'm pretty sure Olympic-level wrestling wasn't one of them. It's pretty early in both of their professional fighting careers, but with the kind of hype Willie Parks brings with him, it seems the chips are stacked against Gonzales. Still, if Matt Serra taught us anything, it's that anything can happen.
'Ultimate Fighter 8 cast member' Lance Evans (yes, Rashad Evan's older brother) takes on Sacramento wrestling champ Jeremy Rosales. At 4-3 with only 1 of those fights not finishing by KO/TKO, Evans seems to be of the 'knock out or be knocked out' mentality. Evans was unable to compete on 'TUF' due to a rib injury, so aside from being related to Rashad Evans, remains relatively unknown. At 2-1, Rosales doesn't have too much experience but comes in with a solid wrestling background. Rosales might be able to take Evans down, but Evans goes all out every time, and based on his record, win or lose, Evans won't let the fight go all 3 rounds.
US Army Staff Sergeant Shawn Pretat, who fights out of El Paso, takes on Jackson's MMA fighter Matt Leyva. Leyva, at 7-2, has lost to only one of his eight opponents and though it's his wrestling that got him started, he prides himself in being well rounded. Pretat is an Army hand to hand combat certified Level 4 instructor as well as an experienced grappler with a background in freestyle wrestling. Both seem to have a solid wrestling base, but with both of Leyva's losses coming via submission and Pretat's jiu jitsu skills, expect Leyva to emulate his personal MMA hero, Dan Henderson, using his wrestling to keep it standing and throw bombs.
El Paso fighters also include US Army Sergeant First Class Enrique Rios meeting US Marine Sergeant Paul Moreno.
Even without the special guests and the UFC veterans, this fight card is still stacked and quite relevant in the regional MMA world. Luckily, the UFC veterans and special guests are part of the package, making Friday night the biggest MMA event in El Paso to date. Add to that the fact that the event benefits the Stars and Stripes Foundation, which aids wounded troops and their families, and you've got a show you can't miss. Rogue Warrior Championships takes place April 8 at the El Paso County Coliseum. The first fight starts at 8pm. Tickets start at $20 and are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. For more information, go to www.texascagefighting.net.
Texas Cage Fighting presents: Rogue Warrior Championships - The Main Attraction Bouts
Friday night, it's another huge step in El Paso becoming an 'MMA city' as the El Paso County Coliseum hosts a huge night of fights. Because the event benefits the Stars and Stripes Foundation, which aids wounded troops and their families, it has attracted a lot of the top fighters with military background in MMA. Aside from 2 UFC veterans, the King of the Cage champ, and several of the top regional names, the event will also have as guests Paul Buentello, a veteran of the sport who has fought for both the UFC and Strikeforce heavyweight belt, and Tim Kennedy, Strikeforce Middleweight contender who bounced back from a loss to Strikeforce Middleweight champ Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza with a win over feared striker Melvin Manhoff.
For the Main Event, it's decorated wrestler and UFC veteran Mike Van Arsdale up against King of the Cage champ Esteves 'Quiet Riot' Jones. Of Jones' 6 wins, 5 were by way of KO/TKO, with his latest trip to the cage lasting all of 15 seconds, so it's no mystery he wants to go in there, swing away and punch his opponent unconscious. Arsdale is the complete opposite, a highly-decorated, world-level wrestler with a knack for submitting his opponents once he takes them to the mat. With a record of 8-5, one would think there's nothing special about Arsdale but when you take into consideration the losses came to the likes of Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Renato 'Babalu' Sobral, and Matt Lindland, you realize it takes an elite-level fighter to give Arsdale a loss. On paper, Arsdale should have no problem taking the fight to the ground and working his game but things rarely go how they should, and if Jones can make Arsdale struggle for the takedown, his heavy hands could get him the win like they've done many times before.
For the Co-Main Event, it's tough, battle-tested, former UFC fighter Rich 'No Love' Clementi versus Warriors Challenge Welterweight champ Josh Hinkle. With over 50 fights, Clementi has been around for a while and, with wins over guys like Sam Stout, Melvin Guillard, and Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson, has shown he can beat just about anyone on any given night. Though a well-rounded fighter, Clementi's style is more grapple-oriented, using his striking to help close the distance and set up takedowns. Clementi's all about top control and uses his ground and pound more for improving position and setting up submissions than actually pounding someone out. He dominated his last opponent for 3 rounds, so confident in the bout that he was kissing his right glove right before punching his opponent only to get submitted with a minute and a half to go, so he should come in refocused and ready instead of treating this like just another fight. Hinkle is the Warriors Challenge champ, and though the promotion isn't too well known, being the champ anywhere means fighting the best competition the region has to offer. Having almost as many TKOs as he does submissions, Hinkle has shown he can do it all but how well he can do it is the question at hand. With all his experience, Friday night is just another day at the office for Rich Clementi, time to get in the cage, press his opponent up against the cage, take him down, rough him up and possibly submit him. Hinkle needs to avoid being on his back, and if he does end up there, he needs to not let his will get broken by Clementi's top game.
Esteves Jones and Josh Hinkle know little about losing and have been making a name for themselves in the regional promotions. Mike Van Arsdale and Rich Clementi have fought in the world's top promotion and look to fight their way back to the big show. Veterans and Up-and-Comers collide and regardless of the outcome, it's bound to be exciting. Rogue Warrior Championships takes place April 8 at the El Paso County Coliseum. The first fight starts at 8pm. Tickets start at $20 and are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations. For more information, go to www.texascagefighting.net.